Alien vs Predator: Enter the Metroid
by loscannprionsa
Summary: Samus Aran, intergalactic bounty hunter, is on the run for destroying the Federation HQ and destroying the X once and for all. She receives a distress call from an unknown planet and decides to investigate. She encounters two ancient unknown alien species at war and the Space Pirates are continuing their research into the ultimate weapon on the same planet: the Metroids.
1. Chapter 1

I awaken from my sleep in a cold sweat. Lately I've been having the same dream night after night. I'm trapped on an unknown alien ship, my Power Suit stolen. I sneak around the ship with nothing but my Stun Gun looking for suit. I always find it in the same place. Upon equipping my suit I work my way back to the docks where my own ship is being stored. Just as I'm about to enter I am grabbed from behind and thrown into the air. Every night I know it's coming but every night I am still surprised to see Ridley. The shock paralyzes me and I don't attack in time. Ridley catches me and drags me against the wall. My armour begins to take critical damage. As Ridley goes to give the final blow I am saved by an unknown alien; a yellow rodent that generates and expulses electricity from its body. It fires a bolt of electricity at Ridley causing him to drop me. Ridley lets out an angry shriek, flies towards us and then I wake up. It is said that Metroids absorb the memories as well as the life force of their victims. Perhaps these are the memories from one of the victims of the Metroid whose DNA is fused with my own.

Normally I would never ponder these thoughts but being in exile I have nothing else to do. After my last mission involving the X-parasite, the Galactic Federation felt it was easier to brand me a traitor and a terrorist rather than admit they were continuing their research into weaponizing the Metroids. As all evidence if their research went up in flames along with the 'X' and the rest of the Galactic Federation Headquarters, who was going to believe otherwise? Still, the Federation doesn't tolerate loose ends and that is definitely what I am to them now. They sent bounty hunter upon bounty hunter after me until I finally went into hiding. The Federation did everything they could to make sure I would die. They reprogrammed all of the computers to recognize me as an enemy threat and to alert any bounty hunter or Federation batallion of my presence if I was near. Only two computers broke protocol; the interface whom I came to call 'Adam' after my friend and mentor, Adam Malkovich. Unfortunately it was destroyed when the Federation realized it helped me stop the 'X' and the Metroids. The other is one of the Aurora Units. In order to control the weaponized Metroids the Federation updated a select few machines with MB's programming. However all but one of the Aurora Units began to show signs of MB's behaviour and they were destroyed.

MB was an android based on the Space Pirate leader, Mother Brain. MB became self-aware and showed promise in controlling the Metroids telepathically. When she discovered that the Federation had intended to change her programming to make her subservient to them she went rogue and killed all the employees on the Bottle Ship. It soon became my mission to stop her but the more I learned about MB and her reasons the more sympathy I felt for her. After what happened with the 'X', I sometimes wonder if MB was right to bring judgement upon us. The remaining Aurora Unit retained some of MB's 'memories'and it too became self-aware. However, it seems to possess some form of foresight and acted as it should have as a means of self-preservation. Either the AU, under MB's influence, realizes I am not the threat the Federation says I am or it recognizes that I still have more use being alive. I don't know. Either way the AU began sending me private messages. It informs me of whenever a bounty hunter is after me and it relayed me a lot of the Federation's private files, the information that no one but those at the top know. I owe my life to this Aurora Unit and I intend to live as long as possible to finish my life's misison; to stop the Space Pirates once and for all.

The voice of the AU coming through my communicator roused me from my thoughts

"Samus, a little over an hour ago I intercepted a distress call from a planet not yet known to the Federation. As such I can't inform you any more of what this planet is like. I want you to investigate the source of this call immediately. Clearly this message has no specific destination so I can only assume the danger is grave and that help from any source is required. There have been reports of Space Pirate activity in that area so it can't be a coincidence. I have given the planet code name: LV-426. Go and report to me as soon as you find out what is happening. And Samus, good luck."

I changed my flight plan as if LV-426 had been my original destination all along. The nature of this call echoed what happened with MB and the Bottle Ship. This couldn't be a coincidence either. I input the destination into the ship's auto-pilot and prepare my sleep pod. I wonder what I'm going to find on this planet that even the Federation doesn't know about. And, are the rumors of Space Pirate activity true? I can only imagine what that means for this planet. A planet unknown to the Federation... I try to shake the fear growing inside me but I can't deny the thought that what if this LV-426 is like SR-388, home of the Metroids. Both were unknown to all but a very few and now with rumors of the Space Pirates I fear that maybe this _is_ a second planet native to the Metroids. I get back into my pod and close my eyes. I'm going to need my strength for what lies ahead but the unease has already grown to an alarming level.


	2. Chapter 2

_Ridley gets closer to me and the little alien this time. I always know I'm dreaming but yet I can never prevent or avoid the events that lead up to him catching me by surprise._ I've fought Ridley and clones of him many times and by now I am consciously unafraid but in my dreams I am still that little girl who witnessed her parents being killed by him. I would like to think that the X-Ridley, the X-Parasites who took the form of Ridley, was the final incarnation of Ridley I'd ever fight but in my heart I knew that this wasn't true. The Space Pirates ability to clone and genetically manipulate species is almost unparalleled, and with Ridley being their most powerful soldier it is inevitable that I might come across him again. _Ridley spews a fire ball aimed at myself and the little yellow rodent. The last thing I feel is the heat of the fire ball warming up my suit before I wake up._

I look out the front window of my ship and I can see the planet now known as LV-426 getting closer and closer. My rest in the sleep pod did nothing to assuage my fears of what may or may not have happened on this planet. The one thought that constantly reappeared was a dark one that made me selflishly question the motives of the Aurora Unit. If LV-426 was unknown to the Galactic Federation then how did the AU manage to pinpoint the distress call? A planet with technology so advanced that it has been able to remain hidden until now and yet they were able to send a distress call that is leading me to them. I push the thoughts of a set-up out of my mind. If the Aurora Unit was trying to kill me it could have done that months ago but yet it didn't. Once more I was pulled out of my thoughts but the voice of the Aurora Unit itself.

"Samus, I have pinpointed the exact location of the origin of the distress call. I cannot provide you with any map data but I will send the coordinates to your visor so you can trace the source. I have also transmitted the coordinates to your ship to set you down as close as possible. As said before, I have no idea what you will encounter down there so get to the point of origin as quick as possible and report. I will analyse whatever data you might find and then will further guide you in what to do next. I will also try hide the interception of this call but Samus, as the heads of the Galactic Federation personally control my functions it is implausible that I will be able to hide this message from them for long."

With the end of the transmission I understood completely the gravity of the possible situation. The AU wants me to hurry because it knows that the Galactic Federation will be sending a ship here as soon as they find out about the potential situation. To discover a new planet filled with a potential new species is a dream for the Federation, but to catch me too in the same movement would be even better. The Galactic Federation army is well trained but if even a portion of what I suspected about LV-426 turned out to be true then the army would not be at all prepared. They were unable to stop the Phazon threat and MB's plan for revenge. I know already that it is up to me to save them from any possible harm, especially if this turns out to be a Space Pirate planet.

My ship enters LV-426's atmosphere and I make my final preparations. The view of the planet confuses me slightly. It is a mountainous wasteland. There is no sign of civilisation anywhere. It is possible that the civilisation is underground but the parallels between this planet and Zebes are already haunting. Without landing my biggest fears were unfolding before my eyes and yet I know that I can't turn back. As my ship draws closer to the ground I begin to pick out something that is decidedly different from the rest of planet that I've seen so far; the remnants of what looks like a ship.

My ship lands and I know it is time to go. With a quick swipe of my hand against my Zero Suit I feel the familiar safety surround me and within moments I am clad in my Power Suit, the final gift given to me by the Chozo. The Chozo are a race of bird-like aliens that took me under their wing, metaphorically, after they saved me from the Space Pirate attack as a child. They infused some of their DNA with my own and gave me the training and the suit that has made me the warrior I am today. I get out of my ship and without even checking the coordinates I already know my destination is that ship I saw earlier. I am immediately struck by the deadness of the planet. No flora and no fauna. Just rocks and mountains. Still, experience has taught me that nothing is ever safe. I keep my arm cannon out as I head towards the ship. Instead of feeling relieved that there is no sign of anything threatening I just feel more dread. It is strange that there is not even tiny insects. Is it possible that this planet is nothing more than a rock that the ship crash landed on? If that was the case then what happened to cause the ship to crash in the first place?

The ship grows in size as I get closer to it. It is jutting out of the ground and bares the resemblance of a "U". I cautiously climb up the little hill expecting to be met by an enemy target but upon reaching the top I realize that again there is still nothing. The ship is gargantuan. I estimate it to be two-thirds the size of the Bottle Ship. Little did I know that the exterior of the ship was nothing compared to its interior. The exterior was cold and mechanical, like any ship but the inside was organic, like a living thing. Or something that was once alive. Skeletal like walls looked as if they had been decaying for a few decades and the living tissue like floors were just as bad. Something about the ship struck me odd, judging by the amount of decay there is no way the distress call could have been sent recently. A thermo-nuclear strike would explain the lack of life and the level of decay found within the ship. But, what was going on here that might have resulted in a nuclear strike? I remember on Elysia, the Aurora Unit devised a plan to break the protective barrier surrounding the Leviathan Seed. Before the destruction of Phaaze it is unknown just how many planets were infected by Phazon. I know by now that it is purely conjecture but I can only hope that if there is any danger here that I'll be ready for it.

I now follow the coordinates given to me but as I pass closer to the point of origin I notice that there has not been a single sight of any crew member, dead or alive. The dead gray causes the ship to blend together until I finally reach something out of the ordinary. There is a large mound coming out of the ground and the coordinates I've been given say that the origin of the distress call is at the top. With three jumps aided by my Space Booster I reach the top of the mound no problem only to finally be confronted with a surprise. A large control panel is raised in the air but it's not the control panel that interests. Sitting at the panel is the skeletal remains of a large, unknown species. I estimate the species to be close to 8 meters but in its current state it is impossible to accurately predict. I switch on my Scan Visor and scan the corpse. There is nothing at all that bears any resemblance within the Galactic Federation's archives that matches this alien. Hopefully the AU will be able to discover something on it. I search the alien's body and notice something peculiar, its ribs are broken but the bones are pointing out. As if something burst out of its chest. An injury like that would be fatal to nearly any species. I would have to keep my thoughts about what happened to this alien until I checked the ship's log. After a few minutes trying to get the control panel to work again I realize that it is futile. This ship and all of its power is long gone. It seems that I would have to check the rest of the ship and try find out myself.

I scan the rest of the large room from the top when my Visor picks up something unusual. A few feet from the control panel there is a large hole, large enough for me to fit through. As I saw nothing else before this room it seems like a good place to start. I jump down through the hole and land on a hard organic floor. The floor I'm on seems to be some form of raised platform but I can't see what lies beneath as a thick layer of mist envelopes the floor. I kneel down and wipe the mist away, the shock of what I see knocks me off my feet. Eggs. Hundreds and hundreds of eggs. My initial reaction and my reason for falling is that the eggs are very similar to Metroid eggs. I have to make sure. Maybe my fears that this was another Zebes were incorrect, what if this was another SR-338 -homeworld to the Metroids. I jump into the pit and get close to the eggs. I have to make sure. I'm in no danger as I learned from the Metroid hatchling that Metroids view the first humanoid they see as their mother. They are loyal and, as I sadly learned, they would give their lives to protect what they called "mother". As I get closer to the eggs, one in particular, I notice that they are larger than those of the Metroids. I take a scan for the AU maybe _it _could tell me what species these eggs belong too. Could these be the infant stage of the larger alien I saw above? Before I had time to form any more theories the egg closest to me opened up. I jump back and aim my arm cannon at the egg. If whatever is inside the egg is hostile then I'll be ready for it.

I wait for a minute but nothing happens. Nothing comes out of the egg. Considering everything else I've seen so far is dead, why should these eggs be any different? I slowly edge closer towards the egg, I'm sure the AU would like to know what kind of species lies inside. One step further and I'm caught completely unaware! Something jumps out of the egg and lands on my helmet. I try to pull whatever it is off my helmet but the sounds of my suit going into critical damage distracts me. I feel my strength draining and then I collapse, unconscious.


	3. Chapter 3

There was something different about Ridley in this dream. Despite the dreams lasting longer they have always been consistent. This time, however, Ridley was darker in colour and larger in size. He also seemed more feral, more like an animal than one of the most elite Space Pirates. He flew towards me and the yellow rodent who I've now dubbed "Zap" due to its electric capabilities. Zap and I jumped out ofthe way but then something strange happened. Ridley crashed. Instead of getting back up and charging at us, Ridley just flailed on the ground, clasping his chest and letting out blood curdling screams. There was something odd, Ridley seemed to be in inexplicable pain. He let out one final scream, a death wail, and I woke up.

It took me a few minutes to gather myself but then I remembered exactly where I was. I got to my feet quickly and surveyed the area to see where the alien that had attacked me was. As I rose to my feet I noticed that my Power Suit was offline. I tried to get it back online but nothing happened. I felt the panic rise from the bottom of my stomach all the way up to my chest. Before the panic took me over completely I noticed something on the floor next to where I woke up. I knelt down to get a closer look and what I discovered caused me to jump back immediately. The alien that had attacked me was laying motionless on the floor. I had never seen any species like it at all on any of my adventures. It looked like an oversized, hairless spider with six legs instead of eight and its tail was twice the length of its body. I withdrew my stun pistol, trained on the creature I moved closer. I had to be sure. Before I could get any closer the familiar beep of the Aurora Unit made me stand still.

"Samus, are you alright? I have been trying to contact you for the last two hours but you did not respond. I was beginning to fear the worst. I have information regarding the unknown species that attacked you. Just before your Power Suit went offline it recorded what happened both externally and internally. It seems that the alien broke through your visor and attached itself to your mouth via your neck. Scans indicate that it tried to implant a foreign object into your body. A remarkable thing happened that none of us expected. We know that Metroids absorb the life force of its victims and as we learned from the X-Parasite incident that you too acquired this ability when we fused your DNA with that of a Metroid. You were able to absorb free-floating X-Parasites as a means of replenishing your health. Just before your suit went offline it recorded a similar phenomenon. The Metroid DNA within your body absorbed the implanted foreign object. I am still deciphering the data sent by your suit but judging by the absorption it is obvious that the foreign object was organic. Now for the bad news. Your suit took substantial damage when the alien attacked you. It ate away your suit using some form of unknown acid. As a result I have had to turn both your suit and its abilities off to give it time to repair. As your suit requires a great deal of energy to repair I shall only be able to return functions one-by-one. I shall inform you as each function is online again. One final piece of news Samus. As earlier predicted the Galactic Federation also received the distress call. Unbeknownst to me, there was a G.F. Army vessel within close proximity to you upon receiving the call. It would seem that the Federation suspects my involvement in helping you as they managed to keep the soldiers' location a secret. They are en route to LV-426 now. Samus, with your current state I estimate a 0% chance of survival if you were to encounter the soldiers. Continue with your mission and see if you can discover what happened on board this ship, at least until your suit has recovered enough to make an escape. And Samus, good luck."

The weight of what the Aurora Unit had just told me rested heavily on my shoulders. Once more I owed my life to the Metroid Hatchling. How dangerous was this unknown infant alien that managed to not only destroy my suit but intended to implant something within my chest. My chest! I suddenly remembered the dream I just had. Ridley was clutching his chest in pain. Is it possible that the Metroid DNA was trying to warn me of what was happening while I was unconscious? I didn't have time to reflect as I knew within the hour the G.F. soldiers would be upon me and I had to escape. Trapped on an unknown planet that contained a highly dangerous species of an unknown origin with only my stun pistol. I have been in more dangerous situations but something about this particular mission just set alarms off inside my head.

I climbed up from the pit back onto the little ledge and scouted the egg chamber. None of the other eggs reacted to my presence. A thought occured to me. What if these aliens communicate with one another telepathically while inside their eggs to determine if prey is close? It would explain why only one egg opened and none of the others did. Still, I knew this was circumstancial but the thought that I was immune to another attack from these things comforted me slightly. I headed towards the wall that I originally descended from to see if there was any way of getting back out. Unforunately I was correct in my assumption that the drop was too big. I would need my suit to get through the hole again. That only left one option: search the room for another possible exit.

I walked towards the opposite end of the room with my pistol still raised. Even if I was immune to what lay hidden in the eggs I really didn't want to take another two hour nap. As I got closer to the opposite wall I saw a large door almost hidden by the darkness of the chamber. The door was almost fully shut but there was a crack just big enough that I'd be able to pass through. The Aurora Unit wanted me to search for clues as to what happened but in order to make the search more worthwhile I knew that I would have to find a way to restore the power to the ship. If I could have access to all the doors to the ship that would make searching a lot easier, or at the very least it might make an escape possible if the soldiers were to find me.

I continued down the newly discovered corridor. The form of the ship was seemingly organic like the top deck. The corridors were all too quiet like the top deck. No sign of anything but the more I walked the more I realized that the ship resembled a research station rather than a commercial carrier. Did the eggs contain bio-weapons? It seemed like a likely conclusion. The Metroids were mass-produced by both the Zebesians and the Galatic Federation to be used as weapons. Dropping these eggs into enemy territory and allowing the creatures to attack any soldier who came across them. It is possible that maybe the larvae implanted some form of organic bomb that caused the victim's chest to explode. Again, circumstancial but I had no evidence to prove otherwise either.

The sound of something falling to the ground ahead of me brought me out of my thoughts. It was possible that a piece of the ship just detached and fell to the floor but I still expected the sound to originate from something alive. I raised my stun pistol even higher and cautiously walked closer to the sound. Considering the amount of eggs that were in the chamber maybe one opened and one of those aliens got out. They looked small enough that if I stunned one I could crush it with my foot. I would have felt a lot safer if my Power Suit were online but I still had all the training the Chozo gave me to protect myself. As I got closer and closer, another sound escaped from the room to my right, a cry. There was something familiar about the cry but I think my brain wouldn't associate what I heard as a means to protect me. I reached the door to the room but as there was no power it didn't open. Thankfully the door looked flimsy enough that I could kick it down. As the metal door hit the floor, clouds of dust shot into the air impairing my vision. I ducked to the side of the door and waited for the dust to settle. Another painful cry emanated from the room, this time it wasn't muffled by the door. Someone was in trouble. My finger on the trigger I entered the room. As the dust began to settle my heart began to race. Standing no more than two meters away from me was a Zebesian, a Space Pirate.

I instinctively went to pull the trigger but the sight of the Space Pirate made me stop. It was writhing on the floor, clutching its chest and trying to make sounds from its beak. It was in so much pain that it didn't even notice me. My earlier instincts were correct. The Zebesians did play a part in the distress call I received. I kept my pistol aimed at the Pirate the whole time. I wanted to run but my legs wouldn't let me. The sound of bones breaking followed by the Pirate's scream filled the room. Something burst out of the Space Pirate's chest. I went to shoot whatever it was but before I could, it darted out of the Pirate's chest and out the door. In that moment I was now completely aware of the danger that lied in the egg chamber. The species that attacked me had tried to impregnate me with something much larger and without a doubt, a lot more dangerous.


	4. Chapter 4

I tried to recall the image of the creature that had just killed its "parent". It had moved so fast but from the way it slid across the floor, I could only guess that it was serpentine in appearance. Though the room was dimly lit I could make out a faint blood trail on the floor. I took a moment to go over my options. If I stayed then I would run the risk of the G.F. soldiers finding me but the alien creature might come back. If I went after the alien creature I could at least try and kill it. In my experience, symbiotic creatures tend to double in size and ferocity quite quickly. Plus it had only just "hatched" out of the Zebesian so there was a chance that it would still be small. Suddenly thinking about the dead Zebesian made me curious about its carcass and the room in which I found him. This room was slightly different in detail. It contained the same organic structure found all over the ship but covering the walls were murals in a material I did not know. The murals seemed to be a mixture of stone and metal but I knew they were organic too. The largest mural depicted a series of images that slowly began to make sense. There were images of the first large alien I had encountered here. Next to that was an image of the eggs that I had just encountered. Some of the images depicted the alien that had attacked me inside. The image after that showed the spider alien wrapped around one of the larger alien's mouth. Clearly they were not of the same species then, I thought. The image underneath this one was what disturbed me the most. A third alien (but presumably it was the second just laying on the ground) but an alien had burst out of its chest. It was just like the Zebesian. I could not imagine the pain it must have felt. Even though the Space Pirates were a plague that had to be annihilated, I couldn't help but feel some pity for the wretched creature.

The life cycle of this unknown alien species was interesting. It waited for prey to come close to an egg where the spider (which I now called a Facehugger due to the nature of how it attacks) would break free and wrap itself around the victim's mouth. From there the Facehugger would implant and embryo inside its prey. The embryo would gestate for an unknown length of time until it becme that serpent. Finally it would break through its victims ribcage and burst out of its chest. Killing its prey instantly thus I have named this form a "Chestburster". The horror of what I had just understood made itself known and the magnitude of the situation was great. This species was a biological weapon on par with the Metroids. A couple of hundred of these and one could presumably wipe out an entire city in a matter of days. That would explain the presence of the Zebesian. I let out a big sigh. I knew that if there was one Zebesian here there would be more. The chances of a single Zebesian happening across a species with the destructive potential as this Facehugger were slim. There were definitely more Space Pirates around. If not in a ship then there was definitely a research lab on this planet. A question that I did not wish to answer had entered my mind. How were there so many eggs? It would not be outside the realm of possibilities that they were all created in a lab but that would require a lot of time and resources. I found myself suddenly thinking about the Metroids and then I found the answer that I did not wish to speak aloud. There had to be a queen.

I left the mural and returned to the Space Pirate. Getting up close to the dead creature I was able to positively identify the Space Pirate as the variation found on Zebes. Or at least a variation of that variation. Despite the gaping hole in its chest there was not much difference between this one and the ones I fought many years ago. The pincer like claws and the beaked mouth were common with this breed. Unlike the mandibled ones controlled by Dark Samus. Looking at the dead Zebesian a final question that I did not wish to know the answer to had entered my mind. Left alone, the Zebesians were nothing more than feral animals. Locusts that destroyed anything in their path. Sure they were a threat but they were containable so long as they did not have a single entity governing and directing them. This Zebesian however. There was no chance it was here by accident. Especially due to the lack of destruction. It knew what it was doing. It knew exactly what it was looking for. Or at least based on my experiences with the Zebesians anyway. I also knew that there was only one entity capable of controlling the Zebesians; Mother Brain. So the question that I did not want answered was this, if these weren't feral Zebesians then who was controlling them?

The sound of a man shouting and guns being fired snapped me out of my reflection. There was no other explanation, the G.F. soldiers had arrived earlier than anticipated and that shouting could only mean one thing. They had entered the egg chamber. I immediately wanted to hurry back towards the chamber but me without my Power Suit and they with orders to arrest or kill me, I had no choice but to move on. I felt sorry and wished them a quick death. If only I could have warned them earlier about the pain they will feel if the eggs really were opening. These "Chestbursters" seemed like a pain worse than death. I exited the room I was in and went in the direction away from the growing sounds of men screaming. It was a massacre. Plus with the amount of eggs I saw they would surely run out of ammo before destroying them all. I could barely discern the blood trail left by the first Chestburster but I followed as best as I could. My eyes were so focused on the near invisible blood that I did not notice my surroundings at all. The trail came to an abrupt end with the introduction of an air-vent of some kind. Far too small for me to fit through now. I would have to wait for my Power Suit and Morph Ball ability to come online again. The screams of the men and the sounds of their guns had finally stopped ringing throughout the halls. In one way I felt a little thankful for their deaths. All knowledge of these strange aliens must be kept from the Galactic Federation at all costs. But in order to ensure that, I would have to go to their ship and make sure they recorded no videos. I had to find another way off the ship and get to their own.

A loud, guttural sound broke the dead silence. It sounded like a mix of the Zebesian howling and of a serpent hissing. It also sounded like it was all around me. As if it were coming from the walls. I knew it would be best for me if I got into a larger area that wasn't so tight. If something were to attack me in this corridor I would have no way to evade its attacks. I ran wherever the corridors would take me but as I moved I could hear something stalking me in the darkness. The sound of something breaking through the roof above me made me dive into the opening on my left. I spun around but nothing was there. Correction. Something _was _there, I just couldn't see it. I surveyed the room. It was similar in size to the one with the murals but instead of murals there was a large stone head carved from rock hanging against the wall. Underneath the stone head there was a large computer. There were series upon series of buttons but I had no idea what any of them did. The faint sound of something scraping the stone above made me look up in time. A large, black mass was lunging straight at all. I managed to roll backwards and catch the mass with my legs, throwing it behind me. My adrenaline shot through the roof when I saw what had attacked me. A large, black and crimson red repitilian life form. It had pincers and a beak similar to the Zebesians but the rest of the body was something else. Its most noticeable feature was the tail that would have been equal in length to its body and the tip of its tail looked sharp enough to pierce through flesh. The creature got into a position to pounce and I raised my pistol. The only thing standing between me and imminent death as a tiny pistol.


	5. Chapter 5

The alien creature struck at me with its tail and I barely managed to jump out of the way. Just before I landed I shot the alien, stunning it momentarily. The force of the attack astonished me as it had pierced the floor with relative ease. It quickly overcame the shock and hissed at me, saliva was dripping all over the floor. The creature pounched on me, too quickly to evade, and it used its Zebesian like pincers to pin me to the floor. Something struck me odd though about the alien. It didn't kill me, rather it seemed to be teasing me. Another reference to the Zebesians. They were cruel and would rather make their victims suffer before killing them. The creature opened its beak and its tongue shot out, just stopping before my face. The tongue looked like a second mouth with its own set of teeth. I quickly slid my leg up to my chest and using all my strength I launched the alien into the air. All I did was free myself momentarily. I fired my pistol again but the alien had learned and it quickly scaled the wall. I lost sight of it. The creature's natural colour made it practically invisible, hidden among the shadows. The perfect predator. I sweeped the room but without my visor I would not be able to find it. And as if angels themselves were listening to my thoughts, the Aurora Unit contacted me.

"Samus, considering the imminent danger you are in, I have redirected recovery energy from your defense system into your suit. Power Suit, Arm Cannon, Charge Beam and Missiles are now back online."

I didn't even have to think of what to do next. Turning on my Power Suit at the first sign of trouble was second nature to me, just like breathing. The flash from my suit turning on lit up the room very briefly and in that brief second I could see the creature waiting for me in the corner. The familiar weight rested easily on my soul. Now I stood a better chance of survival. I flicked over to my Scan Visor and began to sweep the room. Plenty of points of interest but none that would hold my attention until the alien had been killed. I held my position. In the middle of the room I would have the best vantage point. I heard a hissing behind me and without hesitating I spun around and fired a missile. The alien's scream pierced the air. The missile had hit the creature's chest. It was dazed and in pain. It also had no idea which way to go. I ran over to the alien, I wrapped my arm around its neck (if you could even call it that) and shoved my cannon into its beak. I charged up a shot and fired. The back of the alien's head exploded and its blood splattered on the floor and the walls. Nothing made me get away quicker from the alien's corpse than when I had noticed that its blood was eating away the floor and the wall. Its blood was a highly concentrated acid.

Even though I knew I could have been walking into certain death I could not have the soldiers on my conscience. Not if there was something I could do for them now. I ran back the way I had originally come, scanning everything. I hoped to gather enough data for the AU to give me some map data of the ship. I speedily arrived back at the familiar door. The only sounds were those of my boots clanking against the floor. I slipped into the room with my Arm Cannon ready to fire. It was a massacre alright but a one-sided one. 23 soldiers that I could count were all lying on the floor. Dead or unconscious I could not tell. If I had access to my Power Bombs I would be able to destroy the eggs in one but I didn't even have my Morph Ball ability yet. I turned to walk out of the room when the sound of a gun's safety being released stopped me.  
"Stop... right there! Samus Aran... under orders of the Galac...tic Federation... you are un..." the voice coming from one of the little trenches was cut off by the man's screaming. He clutched his chest just like the Zebesian before him. I knew what had to be done.  
"Listen to me! You have been impregnated by an alien organism. It is growing in your chest and within minutes it will burst out, killing you painfully." I spoke as softly as I could. I did not wish the soldier who was just doing his job to think that I was being cruel. He looked at me with tears in his eyes. "I saw one of these things kill a Zebesian in the same manner and it looked like it was in a pain worse than death. I can spare you that pain now, if you will let me?" I did not wish to kill a man but right now it was the kindest gift I could give him. The soldier was running out of breath and the tears were falling even heavier. He looked me in the eyes and he managed to nod his head. I couldn't explain it but in that brief second that we looked into each other's eyes he realized that the Galactic Federation was wrong about me. I took the rifle from his hands and I fired two shots. One into his head and the other into his heart. I didn't want to take any chances so I took a few steps back and fired a missile into his chest. I felt some sadness for these men but the desire to wipe out this species was overwhelming. It was just like the Metroids all over again.

I was snapped out of my thoughts by the sound of something exploding followed by the ground shaking violently. It sounded as if the explosion had originated from outside the ship.  
"Samus, a large ship has crash landed in close proximity to the G.F.S. Prometheus. The exact location is still unknown. Scans showed that a large vessel was heading towards LV-426. Minutes before the ship began its descent another ship appeared on radar. Presumably it opened fire and then it vanished again. It is possible that the Space Pirates have found a way to cloak their ships. Get to the surface immediately and send any data you may find. I will analyse the situation from there. I have sent the coordinates of the G.F.S. Prometheus to you, I have also finished a partial map of the ship you are on now. The hull of the ship is rather weak and a blast from one of your missiles may be powerful enough to tear a hole through which you can escape. And Samus, good luck."

I scanned the room once more for any sign of movement but everything was deathly still. I hoped that I would have access to my Power Bombsb before the Chestbursters hatched but I knew that was a long shot. I left the room and followed the map displayed on my Visor. It was a little reassuring to know where I was going and where I had been. If nothing else I had direction, literally. I followed the ships twists and turns without encountering another organism but that didn't mean I could relax. Finally I had reached the part of the ship that would give me the quickest access to the Prometheus ship. Three missiles and the hull had been breached. The hole I had created was large enough for me to get out and get back in if I needed to. Upon leaving the ship I realized that the coordinates would not have been necessary. Large clouds of smoke and pillars of fire scorched the sky. It was safe to assume that the other ship had crashed into the G.F.S. Prometheus.

In the twenty minutes it had taken me to walk from the alien spaceship to the crash site most of the smoke and fire had faded away. The good news was that the G.F.S. Prometheus had been completely destroyed in the crash. If the soldiers had recorded any video there would have been no record now and at this distance from the Galactic Federation, the videos would have had to have been sent manually. The bad news was that the other ship had suffered nearly as much damage. There was enough of it left that I could do some exploration. It was also hard to tell what damage had been caused by the crash and what was caused by an attack but there was no doubt in my mind that it was attacked. I headed into the wreckage to see what I could salvage for the Aurora Unit. Flames licked the letters upon the ship but I was able to just make out the name of the ship. "Nostromo".


End file.
